Item number: M407

Year: AD 1956

Material: Silver

Size: 45.0 x 24.9 x 1.6 mm

Weight: 9.45 g

Provenance: Leipziger Münzhandlung und Auktion Heodrun Höhn e.K. 2024

This is a commemorative medal issued in AD 1956 by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to mark the one-year anniversary of its forestry cooperation and expedition with the People’s Republic of China in North China and Inner Mongolia.

The medal is circular and made of silver, housed in a red velvet presentation case. The obverse features a wreath of oak leaves encircling a spread-winged eagle, symbolising Germany. The eagle faces five stars, representing the People’s Republic of China. Below the eagle, the abbreviation “DAW” stands for the Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (Berlin Academy of Sciences), the East German institution responsible for the collaboration. Beneath the abbreviation, a silhouette of the academy’s building is depicted.

The reverse side of the medal features a six-line inscription, engraved from top to bottom: “SAMMELREISE CHINESISCHER UND DEUTSCHER BIOLOGEN 1956,” which translates to “1956 Collection Journey of Chinese and German Biologists.”

At the top of the medal, there is a suspension loop that connects to a ribbon symbolising the flags of the People’s Republic of China and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), featuring red and black-red-yellow stripes. The reverse side of the ribbon is fitted with a pin, allowing the recipient to wear the medal on the chest.

From May 16 to September 30, AD 1956, a team of eight German scholars, led by Hans Stubbe, one of East Germany’s foremost agricultural scientists, travelled to China for a collaborative exchange.

Before the academic delegation departed from Germany, the Berlin Academy of Sciences specially commissioned approximately 100 commemorative medals on March 26, AD 1956. Nearly half of these medals were awarded to Chinese collaborators as a token of appreciation for their partnership.

Hans Stubbe was born in AD 1902 and specialised in life sciences and agriculture. During the Nazi era, he was persecuted and forced to abandon his research position. After World War II, Stubbe played a crucial role in establishing and leading the Institute for Cultivated Plant Research, which became one of East Germany’s premier research institutions.

During his tenure at the institute, Stubbe resisted political pressure and actively opposed Lysenkoism, the dominant Soviet genetic theory under Joseph Stalin. Trofim Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics and, with Stalin’s backing, orchestrated the arrest and persecution of scientists who opposed his views. As the Soviet Union expanded its influence during the Cold War, Lysenkoism spread across the Eastern Bloc and became the dominant ideological framework in socialist scientific research. It was only after Nikita Khrushchev’s downfall in AD 1964 that Lysenko’s influence over the scientific community was finally dismantled.

物件編號: M407

年代: 公元 1956 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 45.0 x 24.9 x 1.6 mm

重量: 9.45 g

來源: 萊比錫錢幣拍賣行 2024

這是一枚公元1956年，德意志民主共和國(東德) 為紀念一年前跟中華人民共和國在華北和內蒙古針對林業展開合作考察所發行的紀念章。

獎章為圓碟狀，材質為銀，並且放置於紅色絲絨收納盒。獎章正面有一圈橡樹葉花圈，花圈內是一隻象徵德國展翅飛翔的老鷹，老鷹面對的五枚星星則是寓意中華人民共和國。老鷹下方的德文字母縮寫「DAW」是此次中德合作，東德方面的主責機構「柏林德國科學院」(Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin) 簡稱，簡稱下方即是學院建築的剪影。

獎章背面有六行銘文，從上而下鐫刻「SAMMELREISE CHINESISCHER UND DEUTSCHER BIOLOGEN 1956」意思是「公元1956年中德生物學家收藏之旅」。

獎章頂端有一個提把，以此銜接寓意中華人民共和國和東德國旗的紅色和黑紅黃三色綬帶。綬帶背面有一枚別針供得獎者配戴於胸前。

公元1956年5月16日至9月30日，東德首屈一指的農業學家漢斯·斯塔貝領導的八人德國學者小組前往中國展開合作交流。而在學術小組離開德國之前，柏林德國科學院特別在3月26日打造一百枚左右的紀念獎章，其中有將近一半是頒發給中國的合作夥伴。

漢斯·斯塔貝出生於公元1902年，主攻生命科學和農業，納粹掌權期間遭到迫害和被迫離開研究崗位。第二次世界大戰結束後，漢斯·斯塔貝服務和創建東德首屈一指的研究機關「栽培植物研究所」。斯塔貝服務於研究所的期間，還頂住政治壓力反對來自蘇聯的李森科主義。李森科為史達林統治時期，蘇聯主流的遺傳學理論權威，李森科否定孟德爾的遺傳學說並且利用史達林對他的信任，逮捕和迫害反對其意見的科學家，隨著蘇聯勢力在冷戰後的擴張，李森科主義也成為東歐社會主義陣營的顯學，直到公元1964年赫魯雪夫倒台後，李森科對於科學界的影響力才遭到剔除。